I'm new to the forum and as english is not my first language, please excuse any mistakes...

I just completed the swim types questionnaire and it turned out that I am supposed to be a swinger (with a little arnie and kicktastic), but reading through the descriptions I am not certain if this really is the case...So I’m very unsure which programm to follow (maybe even the overglider???) ...

I'm a 38 year old female hobby open-water swimmer, having learnt freestyle swimming just a few years ago. Now doing 2 - 3 km "races", but aiming for a 7 and/or 10 km swim this year.I have the feeling to be stuck on a learning plateau, my endurance got better, but my basic speed almost stays the same.

The 400m I completed in 7 min 20 sec, but endet at about 26 strokes per 25m lane! Usually I have a much slower stroke rate, about 21-22 strokes per 25m. So I was very surprised that I endet up with 26 strokes...Im 1,74m (5ft 8,5 inch) tall with almost the same arm-span.

One explaination could be, that last season I started breathing only to my good side (right), because with the 2-stroke-breathing i could apply more pressure in the water, but also for sighting in open water it worked best for me on this side...Throuh this I now have physical problems, mostly tension in my lower back on the right side, so I am trying to go back to bilateral breathing, but am not really used to it again. But maybe that’s why i endet up with the 26 strokes.

I am much faster with pool buoy and paddles, about 14 seconds less on 100 m!I do not like kicking drills at all, as I am very slow and it is very exhausting to me.

Here I have uploaded a video, filmed about half a year ago, I’m the women in the front, swimming for the camera . Sorry for the bad quality, I could not manage to upload it in a better quality. https://vimeo.com/150519482

I hope someone can give me some advice, anything will be very appreciated ,

What stands out to me is the big head movement when breathing. It seems likely that this comes together with your lead arm collapsing at this point, and so yielding not much propulsion. SwimSmooth has material on "popeye breathing" (and there are various videos on the Internet).

Some say "forget bilateral, except for practice", some say "instead of bilateral, better alternate between lengths only to one side", and same say "bilateral".You need to find out yourself, I guess.

I guess sprinter is right. the non breathing side is slipping more than the breathing side.And your feet. Do you point the toes? Feet look like they are stickig down.Its all lacking a bit of power, so therefore the swimfitness querstion.

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hey, thanks very much for your replies! i really appreciate it, as i think everything helps!hm, about the fitness, unfortunately it varies a lot. when I'm not sick (which has happend a lot in the last year) I try to swim 3x a week now. about 2,5 - 3,5k each. but even in training i enjoy long distance much more than sprints, because with sprints I'm always out of breath, same with kicking-drills. the easiest, fastest and not out of breath swimming for me is with pull buoy and paddles...

about the breathing, yes, thank you, i also have noticed that there is much to improve, i try to practice the bubble, bubble drill some time as well as the sink downs, it#s not easy but eventually i hopefully will get there ... and I'll look for the popeye breathing...but what is there to do for the lead arm? if i understand you right, you think thatit does not catch the water correctly? which drills are there to do? what do you suggest?

kneippkur wrote:ah, about the feet, i try to point them, but my ankles are not the most flexible...

Have you tried the SS idea of kneeling and then sitting back on your heels to help improve ankle flexibility - as a daily routine? At your age, you shouldn't normally experience problems with stiff ankles - so why not think about using a Finis Foot Rack (or something similar) - but it may take quite a time of regular rack usage before you see any increase of the angle between shin and instep when the foot is pointed!

It's not just the "toe pointing ability" that's important - it's also the amount of ankle lateral flexibility as well (how much you can move an extended foot inwards towards the other foot - think that's called plantar flexion). The SS idea of sitting back on the heels would certainly help improve the inward lateral movement of your feet since the toes will be pointing more towards each other (rather than backwards in line with the legs) as the posterior pushes the ankles down

There is another simpler solution if the others don't appeal to you - you could try making your flutter kicks more shallow, then awkward feet don't protrude so deeply into the water flow beneath the body, upsetting any stream-lining. Because the kicks are more shallow, not traversing such a big path as before, you can make them more rapidly.

You might like to try my little latest idea if using this shallow/rapid flutter kicking. That is - just rapidly kick, concentrating on moving the thighs up/down through a small angle, leaving the knee/ankle joints completely relaxed so that the lower legs "do their own thing", and the only effort expended on kicking, is just that spent on moving the thighs rapidly up/down. I reckon that sends an out-of phase wave-like action down the leg. If you try this - I would be interested in your opinion!